You think you are going to get a fair trial??? Dont make me laugh!!! Like politicians who routinely make up the facts to support whatever snake oil they are selling cops pretty much do the same thing. In this case it seems Sheriff Joe goons want to railroad the folks at Green Acres so Sheriff Joe can get lots of votes from animal lovers. azcentral/story/news/local/gilbert/2014/12/24/green-acre-dog-deaths-dismissal-complaints/20847141/ Montgomery gets earful in Green Acre dismissal Paul Giblin and Jim Walsh, The Republic | azcentral 11:17 p.m. MST December 23, 2014 Prosecutors who are considering whether to refile charges against the operators of a Gilbert-area kennel where more than 20 dogs died during a hot summer night are getting plenty of advice on how to proceed. An attorney representing the dogs caretakers wants animal-abuse and neglect charges to be permanently dismissed on the basis that a Maricopa County Sheriffs Office detective presented misleading testimony to the grand jury about how the dogs died. A group of dog owners urged prosecutors to move forward based on the overall conditions of the Green Acre Dog Boarding facility on the night of June 19 and 20. Jerry Cobb, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorneys Office, said prosecutors plan to re-investigate the matter. Prosecutors dropped the animal-abuse charges against Green Acre owners Jesse Todd and MaLeisa Hughes and caretakers Austin and Logan Flake on Monday in response to a defense motion that accused Detective Marie Trombi of providing false testimony to the grand jury. Austin Flake is the son of U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and his wife Logan Flake is the daughter of the Hugheses Jesse Todd Hughes and MaLeisa Hughes, who own Green Acre. The Flakes were caring for the dogs the night the dogs died while the Hugheses were away on vacation in Florida. The dogs were kept in a 9- by 12-foot room the night they died. Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomerys decision leaves a fraud charge pending against the Hugheses and gives prosecutors the opportunity to refile neglect charges later. One option that is receiving no attention at the moment is possible action against the Sheriffs Office detective, Cobb said. Prosecutors reject the characterization that Trombi presented misleading testimony, Cobb said. Thats a statement by a defense attorney. Its not, you know, a proven fact, he said. The Flakes attorneys, Dennis and Jack Wilenchik, maintain the dogs died of heat exhaustion because an air-conditioning unit malfunctioned. The attorneys accused the detective of presenting misleading testimony, telling the grand jury that an air conditioner that was supposed to cool a dog room at Green Acre worked throughout the night, even though experts for both sides said the air-conditioners evaporator coil likely froze because of a clogged air filter. The Flakes were in a different part of the house and were unaware of the malfunction and, on the morning of June 20, they discovered the dogs dead or in distress, according to the document. A report by electric utility company Salt River Project indicated a power dip at the property that night, but Trombi repeatedly told the grand jury that the report indicated the air conditioning was on all night, according to the document. The defense document cites a portion of the grand jury transcript from Oct. 10, during which an unidentified juror questioned Trombi directly: Grand juror: So the air was working and on until 5:30 that morning when he tried to fix it, Austin Flake tried to fix it, correct? Thats what SRP said? The witness: Thats going by the SRP records, yes. Grand juror: That it was on? The witness: It was on, all night. Grand juror: All night? The witness: All night. However, the SRP report actually showed that electrical usage was 37 percent lower between midnight and 6 a.m. that day than it was during the same time period the preceding five days. In addition, the report showed that during the preceding days, the power usage bobbed up and down as the air-conditioning unit cycled on and off, but usage leveled out at about 2 a.m. that day, indicating that the air-conditioning unit shut down, according to the court document. Furthermore, a mechanical engineer hired by the Sheriffs Office before grand-jury proceedings concluded that the air filter to the Hugheses dog room had not been changed, and that the air conditioner likely froze because of poor air flow, according to the document. Trombis reported action did not factor into the prosecutors decision to drop the charges, Cobb said. Instead, the decision was based on the defenses new theory of why the air-conditioning unit failed, he said. Initially, the defendants believed a dog chewed through a wire that provided power to the air-conditioning unit, but further investigation showed no relationship between the chewed wire and the AC. The prosecutors case originally was built around the first theory. The prosecutions initial investigation was conducted in the context of rebutting the defenses initial theory, Cobb said. Thats now changed, he said. The defense had their own alternate theory of what happened and thats what they presented in their motion, so nothing was withheld from the grand jury, Cobb said. Nobody provided any misleading information. We presented a case that was based on the assertions that were presented by the defendants at the time. Prosecutors are duty-bound to investigate the second theory, he said. We dont believe that any misleading information was presented. We presented information to support one theory of the case. And if we felt there was misleading information, we would have dismissed this case in its entirety, Cobb said. Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he has not read the defense motion, but others have briefed him on the details, including the allegations involving Trombi. He believes his detectives conduced a lengthy, professional investigation, he said. I dont know all the facts, but I will tell you this much: If there was some situation, nothing would be misleading purposefully, thats for sure. I guarantee you on that, Arpaio said. On Tuesday, a group of five pet owners appeared at a press conference to express their disappointment that Montgomery sought to dismiss animal-cruelty and negligence charges. Montgomery would have to decide there is enough evidence to take the case before another grand jury for consideration of neglect charges. Montgomery and John Schill, a civil attorney for the pet owners, plan to meet on Jan. 9. The dog owners and Schill said it was abusive to jam 28 dogs into a small room. Twenty-two died. Another ran away from Green Acre and was apparently struck by a car. Dogs were packed into a room and left to suffocate, Schill said. Shannon Gillette, whose two golden retrievers died in the incident, said she is disappointed but hopeful the charges would be refiled. She said the entire circumstances should be considered, including the size of the room, the number of dogs in the room, whether the dogs were adequately fed and the Flakes failure to seek medical attention for the distressed dogs that later died. When you stuff 28 dogs into a room, thats animal cruelty, Gillette said. It doesnt matter what happened to the air conditioning. Valerie Collins, whose children Alexis and Ashton held pictures of their deceased Bernese mountain dogs at the press conference, said it makes her sick to her stomach that the Flakes never called a veterinarian to assist the dogs that survived the night. I know if they called emergency services, my dogs would have been saved, Collins said. That is gross animal cruelty. Jack Wilenchik said Montgomery would need to show probable cause that the Flakes committed a crime to take the case back to a grand jury, and none exists. It would have been dismissed with prejudice had the county attorney not filed this motion, Wilenchik said. Our opinion is that its over. Dennis Wilenchik contended that the Sheriffs Office focused on the case in response to Arpaios desire for media attention as someone who is dog-friendly. When it comes to animal cases, the sheriff, I dont think sees things clearly, he said. He sees it as a way to make himself popular, because everybody sympathizes with animals more than they do with humans. Arpaio called that notion an insult. Why would I do this to get media attention? I get enough media attention every day. I sure dont need this one, he said.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 16:07:40 +0000
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